


This May Be The Year

by Patchworkcrows



Category: Ghost - Mystery Skulls (Music Video), Mystery Skulls (Band)
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-07
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-24 10:39:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2578574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patchworkcrows/pseuds/Patchworkcrows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Vivi and Arthur start the Mystery Skulls crew, Lewis, Ben, and them travel the country to investigate the paranormal together. A college drop out, a twenty-two year old with a psychology degree, and a recent high school graduate seek out adventure while solving mysteries and ghost dilemmas. A multi-chaptered fic involving both origins, events from the video, and a final solution.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In My Sleep

He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, headlights lighting the way through the pitch black road. It was early in the morning and the sun still hadn’t risen. Arthur was running on six different energy drinks, coffee, and a pack of twinkies from a month ago that he found in the glove compartment. Vivi’s snoring was drowning out the song playing quietly on the staticy old radio, making him turn the dial up for what had to be the fifth time since the Mystery Skulls crew passed out next to him.

Normally it wasn’t him that drove the van, but they were going cross-country for an investigating job in Louisiana and they were really cutting close on time so exceptions were made and he took over the night shift so Lewis wouldn’t crash the car.

Speaking of Lewis…

“You know, Lew, the whole point of _me_ driving was so you could get some sleep finally,” Arthur cleared his throat. One good thing about Vivi was that he didn’t really have to worry so much about how loud he was. It was practically impossible to wake the girl out of her sleep.

He glanced back for a split second to see if Lewis was sitting up in the back but felt a hand lightly smack his head at the action. 

“Eyes on the road, Art. You never know what’s going to be out here at this time of night,” Lewis scolded. 

Rubbing the back of his neck, he smiled. “Yeah I do- _nothing_. It’s late, man.” He tapped the clock on the dashboard for demonstration, red lights reading ‘5:00’. “I’m not kidding though, Lewis. You’re going to be exhausted tomorrow.” 

His friend wrapped his arms around the back of the seat, no doubt leaning forward. “And you’re not?” 

Arthur raised his half-full can of ‘ ** _SUPER ZINGER ENERGY_** ’ in mock salute. “Nope. I’ve got another liquid four hours.” 

There was the very obvious sound of disgust from behind him. “Those things are going to kill you, Art.” 

“Cool.” 

Lewis chuckled but didn’t say anything else for a while. Glancing into the rearview mirror, Arthur watched his friend rest his chin on the seat. It was weird. They hadn’t been friends for long but in the time they got to know each other, Lewis had made his way up the list of ‘strangest people Arthur knew.’ They were college roommates. 

Well _ex_ -college roommates. 

Arthur had only gone because his parents had pressured him into it. He was an undecided major for the first term before he decided he was wasting his money and dropped out. Lewis, on the other hand, had finished up his psychology degree. He didn’t _really_ need it - his parents were filthy rich as far as Vivi and him knew - but he worked hard regardless. Which is what made the whole thing so odd. 

The guy had spent countless all-nighters writing papers and studying but he _still_ wanted to join the Mystery Skulls. Out of the four of them - well, three if you didn’t count Ben - he was the most likely to succeed on his own and yet he completely disregarded the fact that he could be getting even _more_ filthy rich right now and was instead spending his Friday night in a stuffy old van that broke down more than it got miles. 

It was probably why Arthur liked him so much. He was humble and all that other junk. 

“How long do you think we’re going to be doing this for?” Arthur asked absentmindedly as the song on the radio changed. 

He saw Lewis pick his head up a bit in the mirror’s reflection. “Hm? Doing what?” 

“This - driving around the country, getting scared by ghosts, putting up with Vivi’s appetite… You know, Mystery Skulls.” 

Lewis looked to honestly consider the question, chewing on his lip a bit in thought. “Probably not forever,” he answered.

Arthur turned left and off of the highway, pulling into a town. “Geeze, Lewis, have a little faith in the Mystery Skulls, man.” 

“What? I’m just being realistic.” 

“You don’t want to do this forever?” 

There was a subtle glance towards Vivi. “No, I do, but… you think Vivi wants to?” 

He hadn’t stopped to think about that. Vivi was the youngest in their group. She had only just graduated high school last year. They had met her when she went on a campus tour and wandered away from the group she was supposed to stick with. She broke into their dorm that day, blabbering on about some rumor saying the college was haunted. 

Lewis and Arthur had spent that night wandering all of the old classrooms with her only to find that, no, the college _wasn’t_ haunted - it just had a lot of inebriated students who mistook creaky old sounds as ghosts. Afterwards, she just kept showing up, inviting them out on other random expeditions. 

Mystery Skulls was really _her_ thing - her baby. She was the one who came up with the idea late at night while hanging upside down from his parents’ couch, rambling about paranormal shows and how fake they were - “we’d be a _billion_ times better- like Scooby Doo!” Arthur got the van for her, really. He got it cheap from a junkyard and fixed it up over the next month as a surprise birthday gift.   

It wasn’t cause he was _in love_ with her or anything silly like that - he didn’t even like ghosts and he was constantly terrified on their adventures. The only reason he had done it was because he finally had friends he could _really_ talk to - a couple of pals that didn’t ditch him at the drop of a hat. And it was pretty cool just chilling out on the road solving mysteries together. 

Would Vivi get bored, though? She didn’t even stop to think about college or what she might want to do with her life afterwards. Just hopped into the car, blindly pointed to a spot on the map, and announced that they were finally in business. 

Without any hint of a doubt, Arthur nodded. “Definitely. She’s crazy about ghosts.” Vivi had made her mind up the second she visited their university. 

Lewis yawned, “I can’t argue with that.” 

“You really should get some rest though, Lewis,” Arthur pointed out again. “I’m more likely to get us into a car accident if I stay up talking to you - don’t worry, everything’ll be fine.”

“I’m not worried about you, Art.” he rolled his eyes, unwrapping his arms from the seat. “I know you can get us there.” 

Really? Because for someone who thought he was capable of driving, he sure did take the wheel a lot from Arthur. Keeping his mouth shut, the strawberry blonde drove past a ‘now leaving sign’ and back onto the highway. 

There was an exhausted sigh from behind the driver’s seat. No doubt Lewis noticed the tense atmosphere. “I just didn’t want you to be alone,” he explained. “Even Mystery’s-” 

“-Ben,” Arthur interrupted.

“Even _Ben’s_ asleep. I thought you could use some company.” 

Arthur wanted to argue that he didn’t _need_ the company but it was pretty pointless. Lewis knew better. “I think your rest’s more important than my social life, man.” 

“If you’re that concerned,” Lewis arm snaked up front, reaching for the can sitting comfortably in the cup holder, “then you’ll let me finish that junk off.” 

“Y-Yo, Lewis!” Arthur swatted his hand away. “Come on, man, that’s like three bucks- geeze, if you wanted one all you had to do was tell me. We were _just_ by a gas station.” 

Lewis’ laughter started off quietly, just a little more than a chuckle, before he was in full blown hysterics. Ben’s ears perked up in the back of the van before the dog followed suit, standing and barking at the sudden noise while Vivi began to blink awake. 

“Are we there yet?” Vivi groggily asked, rubbing her eyes as she moved into a sitting position. Stretching, the girl almost hit Arthur right in the face. 

“No, I think we’re like,” peering out into the dark as they started to near another sign, Arthur strained to make out the words while he leaned forward. His nose pressed against the windshield glass. “Twenty-four miles away? I don’t know.” 

“ _You don’t know?_ ” Lewis repeated breathlessly inbetween his laughing. 

Cheeks darkening, Arthur huffed. “Hey, man, I’m just going the way you guys said to. It’s not like I can read a map and drive at the same time.” 

“I’ve got it,” Vivi moaned, forcing herself forward to grab the folded up sheet of paper resting on the dashboard. She grabbed her glasses out of one of the compartments, letting them rest crookedly on the bridge of her nose while she peered down at the map. 

‘5:34’, the clock read, blinking furiously in the darkness of the car. Arthur’s eyes quickly swept over the group through his mirror, smile spreading to his face as he watched them all. Lewis was just starting to calm down, clutching his side with one hand while the other wiped away at the few tears forming on the corners of his eyes. Ben, had curled back up into a ball on a blanket, glaring out at them over his mini glasses Vivi had made him last year for Christmas.

The blue girl mumbled tiredly under her breath while she tried to get her bearings with the directions, finger trailing over different paths while she complained that they needed to finally get a GPS. Her hand shot out like lightning without warning, snatching the remaining bite of his ancient twinkie and practically inhaling it while neither of the boys were looking. 

These were his friends. Lewis who worried too much over everyone else and not enough about himself - ignored his calling to go chasing after ghosts and con men. Ben, their mascot - his best pal since he was a kid - and Vivi, the girl who could consume six hoagie sandwiches and _still_ have room for dessert. 

He was lucky, he realized. Lucky that they liked him enough to keep him around - that they didn’t care that he was a big coward and screamed at even the cheesiest horror movie. He didn’t have to worry about ever being lonely in the Mystery Skulls van. Even with them all fast asleep, Arthur felt right at home. 

“ _Art!_ ” Vivi whined. “You took the wrong turn! You’ve got us heading towards _Texas_ now!” 

“Shit,” he groaned. “You’re sure you’re not looking at that upside down, Vi?” 

Jabbing her finger at the route they were on, Vivi glared at him. “Does it look upside down?” 

Lewis cracked his knuckles and unbuckled his seatbelt. “Guess I’m on driving duty. Pull over, Art.” 

Following the taller man’s instructions, Arthur put the car in park and grabbed his energy drink up, downing it quickly before he hopped into the third passenger’s seat up front next to Vivi. “We could have hit the Alamo. I bet that place is haunted.” He crossed his arms as he got situated. 

Vivi’s eyes lit up at the idea suddenly, her head whipping towards Lewis with a puppy-dog pout. “Oh! Can we, Lulu?”

They had a job to do. A _paid_ job with an approaching deadline. If they weren’t there before the week was up, there went any money they would have gotten from the investigation. But one look into Vivi’s eyes and Lewis knew he wouldn’t be able to say no. He cringed, glancing towards Arthur for help. 

“Yeah, _can_ we, Lulu?” Arthur repeated, feet moving up to rest on the dashboard while he fiddled with the radio. 

The van began to pull off the side of the road. “You guys are the worst adults in the history of ever,” the man complained quietly to himself, smile tugging at his lips. 

It was another two months before they finally made it to Louisiana, constantly getting distracted by new mysteries that popped up. 

But that’s what they liked best. There wasn’t any set path for them out on the road - just the promise of a new investigation. 

And how could Arthur argue with _that?_


	2. Unstoppable

She bursted in through the unlocked door, a lit firecracker. They were so caught off guard that neither of them could even say anything, looking up from their card game towards the girl. Bent over some duct taped tracker, Vivi led herself through the small cramped dorm, moving into every nook and cranny while the device beeped steadily. 

The whole situation was off. They’d never seen the girl on campus before and Lewis had to clear his throat six times to finally get her attention. When she snapped out of it, she immediately leapt into a long-winded story about being ‘a paranormal investigator’.

Looking back on it all, they really had to laugh. Instead of just tossing her out of the room like any _normal_ person would, Lewis and Arthur had sat her down at their tiny table and switched the game over to poker, dealing Vivi in. They sat through all of her weird conspiracy theories about the dean actually being a blood sucking parasite and not once did they interject when she suggested the swimming pool in the gym held a descendant of the swamp man. Maybe they were desperate for another friend or maybe a part of them really wanted to believe the crazy stuff Vivi had to say all the time. 

It shouldn’t have been a surprise when  a year later she suggested they pool their money together and go cross-country to visit haunted sites. 

“Or we could get a ouija board and try a seance in the graveyard!” Vivi continued, blood rushing to her head from her upside down position on the couch. 

Arthur cringed as he passed Vivi a bag of chips. “I don’t really like graveyards. Not to mention I’m broke.” Hint, the whole reason he was bumming it out in his parents’ basement. 

“No ouija boards, Vivi.” Lewis spoke up as he flipped through the newspaper, looking every bit the part of a disappointed father in his purple cardigan. 

She grabbed a handful of chips, shoving them into her mouth. “Aw come on, don’t be chicken shits, guys. Ouija boards are like - _the number one way_ to talk to the spirits from the beyond! It’s like the ghost hotline - ghost mobile. Think of it as unlimited texting! _Everyone_ does it.” 

“Vivi,” he sighed, glancing up towards her over the headline. “If everyone jumped off of a bridge, would you do that, too?” 

Vivi rolled her eyes, the young girl setting the bag of chips back on the ground next to her. “God, Lulu, don’t be such an old man. _Arthur_ ,” she whined, crumbs flying out of her mouth and onto the carpet. “Tell Lulu not to be such a stick in the mud.” 

The strawberry blonde lept off of the couch, moving to get onto his knees. “ _Dude!_ ” he exclaimed. “You’re getting shit everywhere- I _just_ cleaned this place! You’re gonna piss my parents off!” Arthur ignored her completely, picking the crumbs up obsessively. 

Getting off of the chair Lewis was sitting on, he rushed over to a small linen closet in the corner of the room. “Here, I’ll get it with the vacuum for you, Art.” 

“You guys are so _booooooriiiiiing_ ,” Vivi groaned. “Do _neither_ of you want to find ghosts?” 

Arthur’s eyes flickered up towards her. “Not really.” It wasn’t like he was crazy about the undead and all that other junk Vivi was into. 

“I just don’t feel comfortable using a ouija board,” Lewis said as he emerged out of the closet with a mini hand-vacuum. “You could bring something back with you.” 

Vivi’s eyes lit up excitedly. “ _Really?_ I didn’t know that!” 

“ _Dude._ ” 

“You can bring something _bad_ back with you,” he elaborated. 

“It’d still be super cool to try out!” Vivi argued, the vacuum flickering on and drowning out most of what she said. When the mess was finally finished being cleaned, the blue girl flipped up to sit properly on the couch, dizzy from hanging around for so long. “Can we _please_ get a ouija board Lulu-”

“Why can’t we do the road trip instead?” If they _had_ to do something nuts like this then he’d rather go to different places. At least then they’d be traveling. Arthur scratched the back of his neck. “Lewis and I have licenses - all we need is a car.” 

“You guys would really do that with me? I mean- I didn’t think you two would actually agree-” 

“-Then why were you pushing it so much?” Arthur muttered under his breath. 

“-but I’d love to go with you guys! You’re my best friends in the whole wide world!” 

There was an obvious darkening of Lewis’ cheeks as he pretended to inspect the carpet for anymore bits of chips. “Would your parents really be okay with you going off alone with two grown men?” 

She paused, biting on her lip in thought. “Probably. They liked you guys at my birthday party last year.” 

They thought back to the celebration, cringing a bit at the memory. _They_ thought it was a disaster. Arthur misplaced her gift so they had to get a gift card last minute before they came over and then through a series of unfortunate events Lewis had managed to get cake all over Vivi’s sweater. And then there was the goat that escaped the petting zoo thanks to Ben. How her parents could stand the two boys was beyond them - not to mention how they could invite them over again for _this year’s party_. 

Lewis laughed nervously. “Right… well, maybe you should let them know ahead of time anyway.” Noticing the annoyed expression on the girl’s face, he added, “Just to be on the safe side, Vivi.” 

“Fine, but you guys have to pay for the whole thing,” she negotiated. 

Arthur was about to argue that they weren’t made out of money but paused, glancing towards Lewis. Well, one of them was filthy stinking rich. 

Feeling his friends’ eyes on him, Lewis sighed. “I’ll see what I can do.” 

In the end, it was Arthur who managed to find a broken down van and put it back together in time for Vivi’s birthday. Lewis had helped come up with the name for them and painted their logo onto the car. Just a few days after Vivi turned eighteen, they were out on the road for the first time. 

And by the next year, her and Lewis would be dating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw - comments are totes appreciated especially cause I essentially have a very vague outline of what I'm going to do and really I'm writing this all on a whim so~


	3. Freaking Out

Nothing happened right away. Arthur didn’t pick up on the tension between Lewis and Vivi for a while - how he stared at the girl or how often he tried to avoid being left in the same room with her. At first, he figured that they had gotten into a fight but when he asked Vivi she had been surprised at the mere suggestion.

When the possibility of them hating each others’ guts was ruled out, Arthur didn’t waste anymore time to find out what the deal was with Lewis.

It was late at night and Lewis had put them up in a hotel for the night since they’d been spending the last month sleeping in the van. The two boys were sharing a room while Ben slept at the base of Vivi’s bed across the hall so thankfully they wouldn’t have to worry about her eavesdropping. It wasn’t exactly grand or luxury, despite how many times Vivi and Arthur told Lewis he could always splurge when it came to them. It was modest with just fifteen channels and six movies to choose from on the tiny television set, two twin beds, a small wardrobe to share, a couple of chairs, and a mini-fridge that seriously stressed the word ‘mini’. Compared to the old seats in their car, though, it certainly felt like the taj mahal to Arthur.  

Arthur curled himself up into a ball while he sat with his back pressed against the headboard, half-paying attention to the gameboy in his hands while Lewis flipped through the stations repeatedly as if he hadn’t cycled through them fifty times already. Sighing, his eyes flickered towards the front door of the room - something he’d also been doing for the past half hour.

“ _Lewis_ , what is _up_ with you?” Arthur’s voice interrupted the silence between them. He couldn’t wrap his head around the whole situation. Their friend worried about them, sure, but never like this before. Their safety came first and foremost, but here in the comfort of their hotel, he didn’t really have anything to be nervous about. Vivi was fine by herself and probably snoring loud enough to keep Ben up. There wasn’t a reason for him to keep checking towards the door. It was like he was _obsessed_ or something.

Setting the remote down, Lewis rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Even _Arthur_ had noticed something was up. That had to mean something. “Don’t tell me it’s _that_ obvious, Art.”

He blinked, already lost. What was so obvious? How weird he was acting? “Seriously, Lewis, what is going on?” Arthur lowered his gameboy to look over at his friend. “You’ve been like…” The strawberry blonde paused, searching for the word but struggling. Giving up, he wiggled his fingers for a representation, “with Vivi, you know? Like you can’t stop looking at her and crap.”

Raising an eyebrow at the hand gesture, Lewis opened his mouth to ask just what _that_ meant but shook his head instead. “I didn’t know you could tell. Great…” he trailed off, sounding exhausted. “She doesn’t know yet, does she?” he sat up straighter suddenly, voice filled with urgency. “Please tell me you didn’t say anything to her, Art-”

Quickly, he hid his face back behind the gameboy, fiddling with the controls all over again. “W-What? Me? Say _something?_ ” Arthur sputtered, nervously, a few unprompted chuckles escaping from his mouth. “Whaaaaat? Noooooo. I wouldn’t- I wouldn’t say something to Vivi- but I mean like, if I just- let’s just say I _did_ happen to tell her something- how bad would that be- like- this is all _super_ hypothetical, I mean- but like… say... if I asked if you guys were fighting? What would the repercussions of _that_ be?”

His left hand flew up to his head, gripping onto his hair tightly, almost ripping it out in frustration. “Art! I can’t believe you’d go and just tell her something like that! That is private information- I had a plan and-!” Lewis paused, processing fully what Arthur had just said. He blinked a couple of times, arm falling back to his side. “Wait. What? You think we’re _fighting?_ Vivi and I aren’t fighting.”

Panicked, Arthur glared over his handheld towards the brick house that was Lewis across the room. “Are you kidding me- Lewis, man, don’t do that! You almost gave me a heart attack!”

Almost gave _him_ a heart attack? He was the one who made it sound like he just screwed everything up and told Vivi that Lewis was in love with her. Moving off of the chair he was sitting on, he headed towards the complimentary basket of fruit sitting out on the coffee table in the center of the room. He picked up a pear distractedly, looked it over, and then set it back down, stomach too twisted up in knots to really eat anything. “Where’d you get _that_ idea anyway?”

“I don’t know - you keep splitting up with me and running off whenever Vivi tries to talk to you. I just figured you two had an argument or something.” It was a pretty logical normal conclusion, all things considered. It wasn’t _his_ fault that Lewis was so overcomplicated.

“No- Vivi’s- Vivi’s great, I can’t really get angry at her.”

“Oh but you can totally get angry at _me_.”

Frowning, Lewis turned towards the other man. “Art, you know I didn’t mean it like that.” He wasn’t trying to upset Arthur - in fact, one of the reasons why it was taking so long to confess to Vivi was _becaus_ e of Arthur. He’d hate to split up the Mystery Skulls crew or make him feel out of place. They were supposed to be a team, afterall. “I just… It’s stupid- I have this crush on Vivi.”

A crush? Making a face, Arthur groaned. That was  _so_  gross. They were like three-four years apart. Not to mention best friends. But hey, if that’s how Lewis felt, he couldn’t really argue. He just wished he said so earlier so he could have went back to minding his own business and not pryed. Arthur really wasn’t one for relationships. “Alright, cool- well now that that mundane mystery is solved, can you get me a soda from the mini-fridge? I’m thirsty.”

Really? A soda at _this_ time? His teeth were going to rot out if he kept up such bad habits. He followed his friend’s orders, baffled by how easily Arthur could shrug off something so important. Did he really not care? “You know if I go through with telling her about this it’s going to change _everything_ , right?” he questioned as he handed the soda can over to him. “I mean- _everything_ , Art.”

Popping it open, Arthur shrugged. “Not really. What’s the big deal? You guys start dating and do what- kissing? Hand holding? Hugs? That’s cool, I guess.” It wasn’t like they’d start slacking on investigations or anything. Arthur could handle a little old fashioned PDA. He took a sip of the cola before setting it back down on the nightstand next to him. “I say go for it.” Geeze, what was with Lewis asking _him_ about Vivi. It wasn’t like they knew each other any longer.

Lewis sat down on the edge of the bed, resting his elbows on top of his knees and his chin in his hands as he thought about it. This was definitely not the reaction he was expecting… but he wasn’t going to argue. Why look a gift horse in the mouth? “Do you think she’ll… say yes to a date?”

“Woah, hey, a _date-_ ” he dropped the gameboy, hands raised up in defense. “Don’t get so hasty, man- we’re on the road, we don’t have _time_ for a date. What am I supposed to do while you guys are off playing Lady and the Tramp?”

“Lady and the- What the hell are you talking about?”

“Lady and the Tramp! Disney movie? Dogs?” Noticing the confused expression on the graduate’s face, Arthur shook his head. “You know what, nevermind. You _so_ did not have a childhood at all.”

This was exactly what he was worried about, though. He didn’t want to abandon Arthur but he also didn’t want to be a terrible boyfriend - that is, should Vivi say yes. “Maybe we can just forgo the date until we get back home…” Maybe he should just forget about the whole thing in general - push it out of his mind and hope his feelings for Vivi went away. He ran the risk of destroying their friendship, after all.

“No, I’ve got a better idea.” Arthur swung his legs over the side of the bed, grinning. He stood up, pocketing his handheld before heading towards the door. “Come on, grab your room keys. Let’s see if there’s a jewelery store still open around here.”

A date might not be ideal considering their current arrangements… but keeping Vivi’s interests in mind, Arthur was _sure_ he had a way for Lewis to woo the girl over. And maybe get him out of some work.


	4. The Future

High school had been an obstacle for Vivi.

She wasn’t particularly good at the whole ‘sit down for 7 hours and take notes’ thing. She struggled with staying still and paying attention. Her grades were just barely average, her report card typically sporting a hard C. There had been an overwhelming amount of parent teacher conferences. Vivi could recall that the phrase ‘you should get her checked for ADHD’ bounced around a couple of times in the past before it was dropped completely. If she had some sort of problem with focusing, no one really thought it was bad enough to need professional help getting it under control.

Not many people really _knew her knew her_. Of course they knew _of_ her. She was that weird girl who dyed her hair blue over the summer - the girl caught in the library past closing on a Friday night - the crazy chick that sat alone at lunch, face pressed against the laptop she brought with her every day, _inhaling_ her meal. It wasn’t her fault that the paranormal websites she visited wouldn’t load properly on her cellphone.

There was a bit of name calling and a bit of awkward hellos. Most kids her age suffered from panic attacks and anxiety over their projects and class rankings. They worried about their popularity and what others were saying. They spent their time after school at clubs and sports, at parties and clubs.

It went without saying, though, that Vivi was hardly normal and very rarely fit into the majority. She _preferred_ being alone from most of the other kids, too wrapped up in her own occult readings to really care what anyone thought.

Vivi slacked during group projects and she slept in all her study halls. She ditched parties she was invited to as a joke - hanging out in the graveyard by herself with a flashlight and a snack. No one liked to work with her, even if it _was_ a creative project that Vivi would feel compelled to take over and make it all about ghosts.

So it was a huge shock to her parents when she finally brought friends home with her months after her graduation. They didn’t care that her friends were, in fact, two grown men in college, or the fact that one of them looked like he could be a drug dealer. They were just relieved that Vivi _finally_ had someone to talk to - someone to hopefully lean on.

Which is why they didn’t put up the slightest bit of a fight when Lewis was the unlucky one to have to ask her family if they would, in fact, let Vivi go on a cross-country trip. He’d been practicing a long speech all that morning in front of a mirror, reciting each point he had to bring up.

 _It’d be a great opportunity for Vivi to get out there and see what her options are after high school,_ Lewis would say. _I’m a certified Red Cross member and Art-_ Arthur’s _… well he’s a bit of a neat freak._

They’d tell him he was crazy to even begin to think that they’d let their precious daughter out of their sights for more than a few hours but it wouldn’t be enough to get Lewis to stop.

 _We’ll schedule college visits,_ He’d further persuade. _Arthur and I will check out any old abandoned buildings first to make sure they’re safe and I’ll have her back by Christmas._

But when he got there and simply _opened his mouth_ they interrupted him with an immediate yes. Maybe it was because they wanted their daughter to experience something she was so passionate about or because Vivi hadn’t kept her mouth shut ever since Arthur and him agreed to the whole thing. That or they just _really_ liked Lewis.

Which, judging by the way they had begged him to stay for dinner that night and offered to let him spend the night in their extra room, he was going to guess it was mostly the third option. Not to mention the whole ‘you’re like the son we never had!’ comment that made his face all red and have to excuse himself from the kitchen table.

Vivi was ecstatic when her parents finally broke the news to her that, yes, she was free to go, and relentlessly blew up Lewis’ phone with texts saying thank you in about a dozen different ways. He had to admit that he was a little impressed by how many languages Vivi knew.

It was probably then that he started to develope feelings beyond friendship for the girl - when he started seeing the world a little brighter when she entered a room. He loved how she’d get so caught up in her own excitement - everytime she’d make fun of them for being nervous. He’d shake his head when she ate three times her own weight or when she’d fall asleep mid-sentence late at night in the van.

Lewis tried to hide his blush when Vivi would lay her head against his chest and tell him about some of her recent research on haunted places in America - when she kissed his cheek after he saved her from some angry poltergeist.

When Arthur snored in the back of the van, it was just the two of them in the world. Vivi and Lewis. Vivi. And. Lewis. He loved the sound of that.

High school had been an obstacle for Vivi but in the end it held a hefty reward. Maybe she didn’t have any friends before but now she wasn’t without Arthur and Lewis. She had a direction in life, she was getting paid for something she loved to do. Vivi was happy, satisfied, and surrounded by loved ones.

And just a year after she graduated, Lewis was ready to confess his feelings for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;3; I just wanted to say thank you to all the kudos and comments and bookmarks and just aaaaahhhh all this cute positive feedback has been really keeping my spirits up, guys! Get it? Spirits? I'm a hoot. 
> 
> No but, really, I appreciate it all and I'm well aware I probably won't be accomplishing Nano this year but since I'm not FORCING myself to write and just doing it whenever I feel like it, I definitely haven't grown tired of the story/want to give it up so that's great! Woot! Although, I think I'm in a pickle with naming each chapter a Mystery Skulls song. I'm bound to think the name it doesn't fit the storyline eventually... Oh well.


	5. Brainsick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> z_z Sorry for the lack of posting and the shortness of this chapter. I've been exhausted like this whole month, woot woot. Obvs not gonna make it in time for Nano but that's fine with me. My main goal is to really just tell the whole story so it's chill. Here's to a new chapter, though. Let's see how long the wait'll be for the next one.

Lewis fidgeted in front of the hotel mirror, fixing his hair for the upteenth time.

“You’re freaking out over nothing,” Arthur told him, staring at Lewis through the reflection. He’d spent the past hour going through his luggage for a nice clean outfit before deciding to just run off to a laundromat at nine in the morning. Getting ready for a date for Lewis meant spending an entire day rushing around like a mad man. He had to admit, though, he was a little impressed by his friend’s dedication. Personally, he would have waited until the last minute to throw on a t-shirt not stained with pizza grease. “I’m like… the romance _expert_. There’s no way Vivi’s not going to love this.”

“That’s not the part that I’m worried about.” he said, flicking his trusty comb out of his pocket. He hated his stupid cowlick - he could never get his hair to stay down completely. “It’s a great plan, Art.” Lewis flashed his friend a nervous smile. “I know she’ll like the house- I just don’t know if she’ll like _me._ ”

“ _W-What?!_ Have you lost it, Lewis?” Arthur exclaimed as he hopped around on one foot, struggling to get his head through his shirt’s hole.

He sighed and pulled himself away from the glass to assist his friend. “You’re a complete mess, Art.” he mumbled, shaking his head.

“At least I’m not _crazy,_ ” Arthur’s muffled voice replied as he tugged down on the shirt, face still pressed against the fabric.

“I just don’t want to pressure her, Art. What if she thinks she has to be nice to me because we’re friends?”

“Well that’s kind of in the job description. _‘Looking for a friend: must be nice, reckless, and willing to chase after ghosts!’_ ”

“You know what I mean.” Lewis helped Arthur give a final tug, successfully getting his head pulled through the collar. “I want to tell her how I feel but… what if I come off too strong? What if I break up the Mystery Skulls?”

Arthur shrugged on his jacket. “Then I guess I have to get a real job. Lewis, you can’t just worry about ‘what-ifs’, man. You need to take action.”

Scoffing, Lewis turned his back on him again. That was a load of motivational bullcrap. “Who told you _that_ one?”

“You did, stupid.”

He paused. Damn it, he _did_ say that before, didn’t he?

Clapping a hand onto Lewis’ shoulder, Arthur grinned. “Come on, man. You’re ready.”

Pocketing his comb again, Lewis felt anything _but_.


	6. Together

The van barreled back down the street the way they came, tires squealing, screeching, and spinning like crazy as they tore up rubber and sped off downtown towards the city lights and wild nightlife. Even all the way back on the quiet empty suburban sidewalk, Lewis and Vivi could hear Arthur’s blaring bouncing music and see the bright blinding headlights.

Left alone to their own devices on a cold Autumn night, Fall leaves blowing about on the street, Vivi shivered and wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck. She pocketed her hands into the sleeves of her too big sweater and peered over her glasses at the big foreboding mansion with boarded up windows across from them.

“So why isn’t Art helping out again?” she asked curiously, eyes lighting up with the same sort of excitement she _always_ got when they checked out an old haunted house. The fact that it was a rickety old gothic one on top of it all wasn't helping either. His heart beat picked up its pace even if he’d seen it a dozen times before in the past.

Trying to act nonchalant in his letter jacket and especially neat hair, Lewis shrugged and settled his own digits into his pockets. “Don’t know,” he lied.

“Mmm…” Vivi hummed to herself.

Obviously she hadn’t bought it.

Afraid she was already onto him, Lewis cleared his throat. “Now that I think about it,” he started off, voice shaky, “we checked this place out together earlier. He kept sneezing - must have been the dust.”

She still didn’t seem satisfied with the answer but didn’t press further. “You’re not gonna go and start sneezin’ all over the place too, are you Lulu?” Vivi teased, going on ahead of him and crossing the street.

He didn’t even care that she called him that stupid nickname anymore. It was too endearing. “I’ll try my best not to,” Lewis felt his gift safe and sound, snug in the bottom of his left pocket. Thank God for Arthur’s fantastic memory - he almost forgot it on the way out of the hotel room.

Vivi knelt down in front of the old door, grabbing out a bobby pin that had been previously hidden deep within her hair (seriously, how did girls always manage to do that? Where did you even go to buy bobby pins? Lewis could never wrap his head around it.). Jiggling the purple glass doorknob while she fiddled with the lock, Lewis kept an eye out for anyone passing by.

It sucked how they had to break into these old abandoned places. Strangely enough, Vivi was an _expert_ at picking locks, though, so he couldn’t complain.

Arthur wasn’t half bad either, but that was to be expected. The man could unscrew the whole door down in a minute if he had the right tools and a bit of a boost. Lewis, on the other hand, was a mess.

“‘Checked the place out together’, huh?” Vivi’s voice jolted him out of his thoughts. Busted that quick?

He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck while his eyes scanned the empty neighborhood block. “We uh… didn’t want to take the adventure out of it for you?”

“ _Surrrrrrre,_ ” Vivi tutted.

She didn’t try and ask what was really up this time. Maybe Vivi just preferred the mystery after all.

He chuckled at the unintentional pun.

“You know,” Vivi piped up again, “you put on a _lot_ of cologne, Lulu.”

Crap. He had, hadn’t he? Arthur said that there was no such thing as too much cologne, but this was coming from the same guy who thought it was okay to empty an entire air freshener spray can in one room in five minutes.

“Is it because you forgot to shower?” she teased, glancing over her shoulder to wink at him.

“What-? Gross. No, of course not. I remembered to shower.” Why, did he look dirty?

“Hey! Got it!” Vivi jumped up to her feet when there was a resounding click. The door swung open, darkness greeting them from the inside. Great, pitch black. He went to grab out his phone.

Another click. Light.

Vivi held an old fashioned flashlight in front of her. At least someone had remembered to pack one. Really, where was his head tonight?

“Good thinking, Vivi,” he encouraged the girl, clapping his hand on her shoulder.

He wasn’t sure if it was just the bad lighting or his imagination, but he could have sworn that for just the splittest of seconds Vivi’s face turned red.

She scoffed like it wasn’t a big deal at all -which, knowing her, it _wasn’t_. “Psh, this? You know I’ve always got one on me.”

 _“Crazy prepared,”_ Arthur had described the girl after they all first met. _“Like the kind that have those bomb shelters and zombie apocalypse plans drawn out.”_

Arthur really did have Vivi pegged to a T.

Vivi pointed the flashlight around the room, assessing what they had gotten themselves into. The inside of the house wasn’t any colder than the temperature outside - a bad sign that the place really wasn’t haunted - but it was certainly _big_ and decorated… ‘eccentrically’. If Lewis didn’t know better, he would have thought they were in an old castle. He only got to see it for a split second before Vivi’s flashlight moved elsewhere, but he spotted a suit of armor just down the hall to their left and if he strained his eyes into the dark, he could just barely make out a wall of large portraits.

Her attention was elsewhere, however. The chandelier at the center of the foyer was humongous and covered from top to bottom, nook to cranny, in cobwebs, just begging to be lit up.  The girl next to him whistled in appreciation, swinging the light up towards the ceiling to get a better look at the fixture.

It was impressive work, really. The metal was surprisingly thin for its frame and towards the bottom bent into what he figured was the shape of a heart. A string of beads was tied together on one end of the chandelier to give the appearance that the decorative hollow heart was being held up. Unfortunately, there had been some damage to the place and the other end only held a broken thread that hung low, clear beads discarded, scattered across the moth bitten rug that climbed the wide massive staircase underneath.

The entire place was an interesting contrast - fancy but falling apart. Intricate but in disrepair. The striped wallpaper was peeling off in some sections and the wooden panel was water stained and growing mold. To any other person, this would be a _terrible_ place for a worst date, but to Vivi it was no doubt perfect. Arthur had really picked the best spot out, because her eyes were wide and sparkling as she examined every aspect of the room. Even if there weren’t any ghosts, she was enjoying it and Lewis couldn’t have done any better himself.

He found the flashlight forced into his hand as Vivi dug out her cellphone, flash going off as she snapped photo after photo.

“How much do you think a place like this costs?” Vivi asked, voice filled with excitement as she climbed up the stairs to get a close picture of the chandelier.

Using the flashlight to check the corners for anything out of place, Lewis tapped his chin. “As it is now? Next to nothing. Why?” He glanced over her, eyes straining to pick her out of the darkness before her camera went off again, making him see spots for a moment. “Do you want to buy it?”

Her laugh echoed. “Puh-lease, Lulu, I couldn’t afford it.”

Would it be crazy if he bought her the mansion? It’d be a little crazy. Crazy enough to get Arthur on his case. Bad idea. Scrapped idea.

“You wouldn’t want to buy it,” he told her as he came across a particularly large spider in its web. “It’d cost a lot to fix this place up.” Enough to make a dent even in his parents’ wallet.

No response. She was probably distracted again. Lewis went to turn around and follow wherever Vivi wanted to go next but stopped when he felt arms sink around his waist. His face heated, Lewis swallowed hard. This was nice. He liked this. He only wished his liking her had been more of a surprise.

“V-Vivi,” he managed to choke out, his voice only the slightest bit of squeaky.

“Yeah?” her voice called out from halfway across the room.

Wait.

Lewis slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder only to find a spirit, its hold firm and surprisingly solid. It wasn’t particularly scary - in fact, under normal circumstances he’d call it cute - but he still jumped back away from the spectre, let out a scream, and hit the wall behind him.

Vivi was scooped up in the man’s arms before he bolted down the left hall, past the armored suits and still paintings. Her laugh bounced against the walls as he ran, replacing his sudden fear induced adrenaline with pure excitement. They weren’t being chased and there weren’t any signs of any other ghosts in the building so he began to slow down to a halt after he had put enough distance between the two of them, setting her back down onto her feet on the floor.

Bent over to catch his breath, he sent Vivi the most pathetic excuse for a glare, the corners of his lips twitching and trying not to break into a smile. How was it that even now, even after getting harassed by a ghost, he still couldn’t help but light up at her face.

“What’s so funny?” he managed to spit out while she clutched her stomach, trying to stay standing.

“Y-Your scream!” Vivi snorted, covering her mouth to try and control the giggles pouring out. “You- _You scream like a girl, Lulu!_ ”

The scene was too perfect. He couldn’t keep it bottled up any longer. She was gorgeous, doubled over and falling to floor in hysterics over something so ridiculous. Like a human tornado. She came barreling into a room and swept everyone up in her life and energy. Every moment had him breathing her in, fingers desperately trying to grasp onto her and hold her close - don’t let the moment slip past.

He dug around in his pockets while he spoke the rehearsed speech he had planned out ahead of time.

“-you mean a lot to me,” the phrase pushed its way forth as he fumbled through his jacket. Cliche after cliche, words that Arthur had deemed pathetic and lame when he had been practicing in front of the mirror in their hotel room.

He felt her eyes on him as too much time passed.

“Where is it? I just had it- I- _Damn it!_ ”

He trailed off, he patted himself over a dozen times, he tore off his jacket and turned it inside out but the gift Arthur and him had rushed out to go get her was missing.

Clenching his fists, Lewis glared down the way they had come from. It had to have been the ghost. There weren’t any holes in his pockets and he had felt the heart-shaped locket just a few minutes ago. He opened his mouth to apologize but all too quickly, Vivi’s lips were pressed against his and his eyes widened in shock.

Vivi was kissing him.

**Vivi was kissing him.**

Vivi.

Kissing.

Him.

His shoulders slacked and he fluttered his eyelids shut, face flushed while he slumped against the shorter girl. Was this his first kiss? It might have been his first kiss. He couldn’t remember because all other kisses in the past were _nothing_ in comparison to this one. Whatever previous relationships he had before were quickly forgotten and replaced with this singular moment because that’s what Vivi did. Occupied his head and took up every bit of space he had left for her.

They had to break apart eventually because air was a thing and their lungs were starting to lack in the whole oxygen department after a while.

Living tornado grabbed onto his hands, pulled them in close to fill up the between them as he stared down at her with eyes soft and brows knitted close together in adornment.

“I love you too, Lewis.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> z_z; It may be a while before I post another chapter.


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